Film Review: Life is Never Over in ‘I’ll See You in My Dreams’

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CHICAGO – Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you, if you’re the main character in “I’ll See You in My Dreams.” Blythe Danner portrays a long-time widow whose routine is set, but life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. The series of extraordinary events are life lessons, at a point in life where class is dismissed.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

The film rises and falls on the shoulders of Ms. Danner, and she wavers on how much she is up to the challenge. The film is a bit of a tease, dangling the pool boy in front of the still sultry Ms. D., but it essentially is a slice of life, with more ordinariness – sometimes to its disadvantage – than show-off drama. It’s the type of story that when it works best, it really works, but when it doesn’t, it’s not that annoying. It’s a fairy tale, and for Danner’s character, it all came true.

The film opens with Carol (Danner), a sixty-something widow, taking her sick dog into the vet, and it has to be put down. With a new realization of sadness, Carol is suddenly sensitive to the her normal routine, and begins to drink a little more. This concerns her bridge club (Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place, June Squibb), and they encourage her to move into their assisted living facility.

Not feeling right about leaving her home, Carol starts a friendship with Lloyd (Martin Starr), her pool maintenance man, and starts a flirtation with a widower named Bill (Sam Elliott) at the local golf club. All these life changing events start to overwhelm her life, and the next phase proves that no matter what routine you have, it cannot replace living.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “I’ll See You in My Dreams”

Bill (Sam Elliott) Woos Carol (Blythe Danner) in ‘I’ll See You in My Dreams’
Photo credit: Bleecker Street Media

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “I’ll See You in My Dreams”